American democracy

"The basic principle by which this country became democratic was that this government is for the people, of the people, by the people. So it has to be people-oriented. But democracy at this stage without realization cannot work out. It's obvious. Few people who were cunning, who could make money became money-oriented. They could advertise better; they could manipulate better than other people who were crooks also, making money like that, through drugs, through other things, by other means. They could come up, they were elected, and they are in charge. So it is not people-oriented, but it is only money-oriented democracy. And maybe if it goes on like this, you'll find you might get some horrible crooks as rulers in this country. Because the one who can make money, the one who has lots of money, by hook or crook, whosoever may be, can win over elections and can become our ruler here.

So the democracy that was started or was spelled out by Abraham Lincoln is no more there; it's a money-oriented thing. And it has generated such a bad atmosphere all over the world that in the whole world now the conservatives, the people who think they are conservatives, who are money-oriented people, who don't care for people at all, now are becoming the leaders, everywhere. So to be people-oriented one had to, first of all, understand that you have to have your realization, otherwise you do not become a collective being. If you do not become the collective being, you cannot enjoy the beautiful virtue of generosity. And when you do not have that generosity, then you become a person of a very small mind and a small heart. And the crookedness works everywhere. Outside they're very sweet to talk. But inside don't know what they will do, how they'll deceive. In this kind of atmosphere we are."  

 Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi    May 28, 1990 "      The Divine Discretion "     Camp Marsden    San Diego, Ca.  U.S.A.      

Modeling Respectful Behavior

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Excerpt from a talk by H.H. Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Burwood Ashram, Australia, March 05, 1992

I told you the story. Again I'll tell you the same story: that my father had a generous habit of educating boys from poor classes. That all we do. If we have money, we just don't put it for ourselves and indulge into it, but we always try to help our poor relations or poor people. So he always had four, five boys studying. They stayed in our house and they looked after them. One of them did his matriculation then he was doing his intermediate. He felt little obliged and he said, "Sir, if you allow me I would like to teach your children." He said, "All right, go ahead." We had two gates to enter the house: one which went through the courtyard, another through his office. One day, I don't know why, he came through his office and immediately my father stood up for him. Now he was extremely embarrassed. You see, he didn't know, just thought. Everybody got up. "Who is this gentleman has come?" Then he went inside, and he told My mother that "I touch your feet, but tell Sahib not to get up for me, it is too much, I can't just bear it." My father came in and he said, "Why should you be embarrassed? If I don't respect you, then my children won't respect you." You must try to be nobler people. It is ignoble habits should be given up, otherwise your children will be ignoble.

Prayer to Shri Mataji:

O Holy Shri Mataji, salutations to You who are clad in white robes, who are adorned with various ornaments, who exists everywhere in the universe and who are the Mother of the universe, salutations to You.

Let us always keep the children in our loving attention and give bandhans for their protection.

This subtleness gives you certain powers

I'm really sorry for getting so late...It happens and whatever happens one has to accept. That's how the Divine works. Everything has some reasons. Now, they must have been able to explain to you what centers we have within ourselves and he has told you what is the mechanism within ourselves. It is all built within us during the different periods of our evolution. Every center is built like that.

Now, all this is built, like a pathway. By left and right you create the central path of your ascent. And when this pure energy of your desire ascends, is awakened, then it pierces through the last center what we call as Sahasrara, meaning the thousand petalled centre, which is the brain, we can say, or part of the brain which covers the limbic area. The Spirit is the reflection of God Almighty and it resides in our heart. When the Kundalini touches the Sahastrara, the seat of the Spirit - which is reflected in the heart - gets enlightened. That doesn't mean the Spirit gets enlightened but the attention is like a sari, which is pushed in like this, and when it touches, it pierces through and the Spirit in the heart, which has the seat here, starts entering into our central nervous system.

So the first feeling you get is a cool breeze on top of your head. That's the first feeling. Second feeling you get is All Pervading Power because now you have entered into the subtle area of your awareness. Human awareness is gross at first but when you touch the Spirit, you become thoughtlessly aware. But there is no thought, the grossness goes away because thoughts disappear. And you become subtler. This subtleness gives you certain powers. The first power that you get is that you become, your awareness becomes collectively conscious. That you can feel another person on your fingertips - that means you become absolutely aware."

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi   May 30, 1985  Public Program Follow-Up    San Diego   U.S.A.

Attention is chitta and God is attention

"Today I am going to talk to you about attention: what is attention, what is the movement of attention and what are the ways and methods of raising our attention. Keep it in broad ways. All right? But when I am saying also the attention that you have is the only way to know the reality. Your own attention is important, not the attention of others or your attention on others... 

So today as I am going to speak to you about attention, you should know that your attention should absorb all that I am saying. It is not meant for anybody else. You better sit in thoughtless awareness, that's the best way, so that it goes into you. Otherwise it's like a lecture, you know. That you listen to me has no effect. Every lecture will transform you because, after all, I am speaking. But because you always think of others and you think of your problems all the time - something nonsensical is going on, about which you are worried - and the attention is so overloaded that whatever is said to you doesn't go into you. So just now utilize it by being attentive and knowing that all these nonsensical things have no value. Is your attention that has to come up and has to grow.

So, attention is the whole of the canvas of your being. Is a complete canvas, is the attention. Complete canvas of your being is the attention. How much you have gone into it, how much you have discovered it, how far you have raised it is a different point.

Attention is chitta and God is attention. How far your attention has been enlightened is a different point. But your attention is God, if you become enlightened to that extent. It is like a canvas. You can say it is like a canvas which is spread out for a film. And whatever aptitudes or, you can say, the drags or movements of your attention has, shows on that canvas. I don't know what is the word for vritti in English language. It's not aptitude, but a person gets prone to, or his attention is dragged to - I don't know there is a word like that in English language - vritti.

So our attention is just a pure, completely pure canvas, and is acted upon by the three gunas we have, to begin with. And the three gunas come to you, as you know, one from your past, one from your future sense and one from the present. Now whatever have been your experiences about a particular thing or a particular occasion, so far is completely recorded in your memory. For example, if you see the black color, all that goes with the black color is recorded in your memory. As soon as you see this black color, quite a lot of it comes up. That means, as soon as you see this with your attention, the attention gets muddled up. Or you can say the attention gets colored with all the memories about this black color. And then your action takes place according to the way your attention is affected. For example, just now something was burned by these flames. Now all of you became aware of it. Next time whenever you will see a flame, first thing will happen will be that you will be cautious about it. It is not going to happen again, but the whole memory will come to you and you will try to be cautious or warn others, because your attention will become aware of that as soon as you will see that. Because that canvas of your attention itself will start throwing out these pictures of itself, through your past experiences, on to the canvas. This is a living canvas. "

Shri Mataji Nitmala Devi   May 26, 1980   " Attention "  Dollis Hill Ashram  London, U.K.

Is there any purpose of our life?

"I bow to all the seekers of truth. I came to San Diego long time back and I'm very happy to come back here. When we talk of truth we have to understand that truth is not what we understand through our mental projections. Mostly the mental projections give us illusions. There is no reality behind them. Truth is an experience of the central nervous system. For example if this is cold I can feel it, it is cold. Even if a child touches this, it can feel it, it is cold. If it is hot we can feel it on central nervous system, that it is hot. In the same way the truth is to be known on central nervous system, not through mental projections. While we live on mental projections some people come and talk about truth, we think he is the man standing on truth. He represents truth. Somebody talks about compassion - we believe he's very compassionate he's very peaceful. But compassion does not speak, it is silent, it acts, it works. So one has to understand that to get to truth, to get to reality one has to cross the barrier of mental activity. Unless and until you understand this simple point, is going to be difficult to give Realization to people.

This is the basic trouble in the western countries that they think that they can conceive truth through their mental projections and that's why they have many types of truths. So how do we achieve it? How do we conceive it? What is the way? How did we become human beings from amoeba? Scientists must ask this question: "How did we become and why did we become? What was the purpose? Why the nature works so hard to make us human beings? Is there any purpose of our life?" We have not achieved our purpose. Is something in transition still. That's why there is confusion. There is confusion because we live on relative terminology, relative world. We are not in the absolute. Everything becomes absolute when you feel it on the central nervous system.

Now the confusion also comes because we always accept something that comes to us very new. Anything new we want to jump into it. Anything new we see, try it, why not? If you say: "Why do you do it?" they'll say: "What's wrong? We are seeking God, we are seeking the truth... " Anything new we try, but not in our lives we don't do that way. When we have to discover something about anything, say about electricity - we do not just try something new, but we try through the knowledge of the past, through the tradition of finding it out. We try to find out how far it has gone and where have we to reach.

But in spirituality we want to try everything that is new. And the shopping starts because we have not known what is the truth."

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi May 29, 1985 Public Program San Diego, U.S.A.